+- The Voynich Ninja (https://www.voynich.ninja)
+-- Forum: Voynich Research (https://www.voynich.ninja/forum-27.html)
+--- Forum: Analysis of the text (https://www.voynich.ninja/forum-41.html)
+--- Thread: A matter of scale (/thread-3142.html)
A matter of scale - R. Sale - 03-04-2020
I don't contribute much to this discussion, because my interest has been in the VMs illustrations and the illustrations have much to say. They do lead to connections with the language, i..e. the written text.
Linguistic analysis of the words (vords), the symbols (glyphs), and the structure often look promising, but still come up empty. The attempt to take the text apart gives us answers and information, but it hasn't worked to find a solution.
On another level of scale N. Pelling proposed a 'block' paradigm. It assumes the overall pattern on a page, where two examples of written text present a similar appearance, could be based on line length, and having a concise and fixed structure, like a poem. The difficulty is finding the candidate on either the VMs side or the external source.
There is an intermediate scale between these two extremes. This is a paradigm based on the patterns of vords within a specific line of text. A task of great difficulty for an entire manuscript, except that the VMs illustrations provide a highly qualified candidate.
The text in the outer ring of VMs White Aries has several qualities to recommend it. There is a most unusual patterned marker (Stolfi's 'start here' marker) in the text ring. This gives the text segment a starting point, a beginning and an end, a fixed and finite length. The selection of the text is reinforced by the position and nature of the associated human figures (Fieschi popes). The internal structure of the text, with the number of repeated vords makes this segment of text unique in the VMs Zodiac sequence. There is the also sequence of word presentation and repetition. The repetition of vords two or three times corresponds with the pairing paradigm presented in the medallions of the first five houses of the 'strange' VMs Zodiac sequence and also seen elsewhere. Plus the text segment contains a particular XYX marker. Something equivalent to 'time after time' or 'again and again' or 'A and B and C', or various other possibilities, with the middle vord repeated also.
The failure here is obvious. What is lacking is the discovery of possible examples of external candidates with similar patterns of internal repetition. If the investigation depends on the recovery of traditional terminology and traditional interpretation, then the text source should be traditional as well.